"It’s not a good track for me": Kyle Larson skeptical of his performance at Martinsville Speedway despite last year's victory

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson heads into this weekend's NASCAR race at Martinsville Speedway as a former winner at the iconic short track. The former Cup Series champion was seen taking the checkered flag in P1 last year, keeping the tradition alive for Rick Hendrick's racing outfit's triumph at the venue.

However, Kyle Larson has publicly talked about his struggles at the 0.5-mile-long track, despite his winning form last year.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's Cook Out 400 at 'The Paperclip', the California native elaborated on his struggles with the track, and his chances this weekend to speedwaymedia.com:

"I still have a lot of room for improvement there to be a consistent contender. It’s still not a comfortable track for me. I still don’t really feel I can run consistent, comfortable laps with a rhythm. Yeah, I won last year, but it’s still not a good track for me."

He added further:

"I don’t go there and dominate like I have at a lot of other race tracks. But we happened to win there last year, so that was really neat and something I’ll never forget. It was something that I never thought I would do."

With Hendrick Motorsports able to sweep at least one yearly event at Martinsville Speedway since 2020, it remains to be seen if Kyle Larson is one of the four Hendrick drivers to accomplish the feat this time around.

What are Kyle Larson's odds of winning the 2024 Cook Out 400?

Heading to Martinsville Speedway having managed to visit victory lane at the 0.5-mile-long short-track, Kyle Larson stands in the top 5 on the driver odds table predicted to win at 'The Paperclip'.

With a 15-2 chance of winning once again at the venue, Larson grabs fourth position, with Joe Gibbs Racing duo Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., along with defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney ahead of him. With Hendrick Motorsports also celebrating the racing outfit's 40th anniversary at the bittersweet venue, all four drivers from the team will be under extra pressure to perform.

It remains to be seen how the #5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver fares come race day. The 2024 Cook Out 400 is scheduled to go live on Sunday, April 7, 2024, at 3:00 pm ET.